Paper is the most recycled product compared to metal, glass, plastic and most other materials. It is also biodegradable when it has a chance to mix with air, water and sunlight.
Consider these facts:
- In 2010, 63% of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling – nearly 344 pounds for each man, woman and child in America1.
- The recovery rate for other materials is much lower2:
7% for plastics
18% for electronic products
22% for glass
36% for metal
- The Unites States now dumps between 200 and 300 million electronic items per year. E-waste represents an estimated 25% of waste in U.S. landfills and 70% of toxic waste found there.2
What does all of this mean? As we have shown over the last 5 Paper Myth posts, paper is not as inefficient as many people believe. Some efforts of “going green” are really aimed at “saving green,” which end up utilizing other resources anyway.
All human activity uses resources and generates waste. Technological progress and innovation will continue, as it should, so the real challenge is how to become more efficient using all of our communication tools, both print and electronic.
1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2008 Statistics
It has been said, “We will have paperless offices after we have paperless bathrooms.”
Paper Myth #5 is “Recycled Paper is Always Better than Virgin Paper.” This is not necessarily true. Paper can be recycled an average of five times, which is why making all paper from 100% recycled fiber is not sustainable over the long run. Introducing virgin fiber into the paper stream is essential. As we have learned in previous Paper Myth emails, much of that new stock is grown in sustainable ways.
No matter what the inputs are, we all have a responsibility to promote the efficient use of our resources. Recycling and using recycled content is surely part of that, which is why all our house sheets have at least 10% recycled content with some as high as 100%.
CPC Solutions recycles over 1.5 million pounds of paper a year, which finds its way into paper towels, napkins, tissue and toilet paper1. This recycled paper helps supply restaurants, schools and yes, even our papered bathrooms.
Production notes: The personalized image above was done by creating each letter out of shredded paper destined for recycling, photographed individually and merged with a database using special software for personalization.
1All waste paper is sent to SCA Tissue in Flagstaff, AZ
Take only pictures and leave only footprints. Any of us who have wandered into nature have probably heard that mantra. Carbon footprint is the measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) released into the atmosphere that have arisen through the manufacture and distribution of a product or service.
Consider these facts regarding paper’s carbon footprint:
The Pulp and Paper Industry largely utilizes renewable energy sources that are considered carbon neutral to generate steam.1
Sustainably managed forests are virtually carbon neutral.1
Paper’s primary raw materials are renewable.
The paper and forest products industry replenishes more than it takes and ensures the sustainability of our forests by planting 1.7 million trees every single day, more than three times what is harvested.2
The U.S. Dept of Energy has stated that the carbon sequestered on forested lands in 2006 was greater than the carbon released from harvesting wood over the same period.
20% less CO2 is used per year by a person reading a daily printed newspaper versus a person reading web-based news for 30 minutes a day.3
The same amount of CO2 is used per year by all mail delivered to an average household in a year versus a coffee maker being on for one hour per day for one year.4
Knowledge is power. Our goal is simply to educate, so we can all make the best decisions possible while keeping things in perspective.
1Presentation from: Lewis Fix, Vice President Brand Management & Sustainable Product Development, Domtar; Paul England, Environmental and Sustainability Manager, HP Indigo North America; Laura Field, Media Manager, HP Indigo North America
2 Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program
3Swedish Royal Institute for Technology; Paper & the Environment, ATS Consulting 2007
4Life Cycle Inventory of the Mail; Greening the Mail Taskforce, 2008
Paper, kind of like Buffalo, NY, often gets a bad rap. It is no secret that paper production consumes energy, but how does it compare to other industries for which we rely on daily? The chart below illustrates electricity use by industry from 2006. In 2011, servers and data centers are projected to use 107 billion kWh* These numbers are not even accounting for the energy it takes to read this email on PCs, MacBooks, smart phones and iPads. *U.S. Dept of Energy
At CPC Solutions, about 85% of our paper is purchased from Sappi’s mill in Cloquet, MN. Sappi’s paper is made with 100% Green-e renewable electricity. To find out more than you probably want to know about carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates (RECs), click the Green-e logo below.
Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products. Compared to other materials, wood and paper-based goods, produced in a sustainable manner, can be a wise choice because:
- They come from a renewable resource
- They capture carbon
- They store carbon
- They are recyclable
A reputable company will have some level of certification. At CPC Solutions, we are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and all of our house sheets are FSC certified papers that use recycled content, some as much as 100% recycled fiber (i.e., Reincarnation Matte by New Leaf Paper). FSC certified forest products are verified from the forest of origin through the supply chain. Ask to have the FSC logo on your next project.
We learned at a young age to have respect for nature, so carving your name into a tree was never acceptable - even if it was to express one’s undying love. Over the next several weeks, to help balance the conversation in today’s electronic world, we will address the most common myths about paper and trees.
Today, we discuss forests. For every tree harvested, several more are planted, or naturally regenerated, in its place. Consider these facts:
Annual net growth of U.S. forests is 36% higher than the volume of annual tree removals.
The paper and forest products industry replenishes more than it takes and ensures the sustainability of our forests by planting 1.7 million trees every single day, more than three times what is harvested.
There are nearly 750 million acres of forests in the U.S - about the same as 100 years ago.
600 million seedlings planted annually supplement natural regeneration in Canada.
“Forestry is the most sustainable of all the primary industries that provide us with energy and materials…To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees…”
Dr. Patrick Moore, Co-founder of Greenpeace Chair/Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd “An Inconvenient Fact”, The Vancouver Sun August 29, 2007.
Source regarding the facts in this blog: HP, American Printer and Domtar Paper
